New Rum Distillery to Open in Central Puerto Rico

A new rum distillery will open in a former pharmaceutical plant in central Puerto Rico, helping to offset the loss of Captain Morgan rum from the island, according to the Associated Press. The Club Caribe LLC distillery is scheduled to open in early 2012 in the mountain town of Cidra and will produce 2 million gallons of rum its first year as part of a 20-year deal. The local company is affiliated to Cc1, a Puerto Rican company that distributes Coca-Cola products in the U.S. territory. Club Caribe expects to employ 25 people and invest $10 million in machinery and equipment as it moves into the old GlaxoSmithKline factory. The distillery eventually will produce up to 10 million gallons of rum, both to sell in bulk and as private labels including Club Caribe, a white rum; Black Roberts, a spiced rum; and Carlos Rum, a gold rum. The company will target the U.S. mainland market.